Rangers vs Penguins NHL Spread/Handicapping
Retooled Rangers Take on Scuffling Penguins Friday Night
The New York Rangers will try to make it two in a row this week against the Eastern Conference leading Pittsburgh Penguins when they head to Consol Energy Center Friday night.
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On Wednesday night, the Penguins, playing their second game without Sidney Crosby dropped a 6-1 decision to the Rangers as both clubs welcomed the players acquired at Wednesday’s trade deadline. Both the Rangers and the Penguins were the busiest teams reshaping their teams at the trade deadline – the Rangers were the team that saw the immediate returns in snapping their seven game losing streak to the Penguins.
NY Rangers (18-15-0-3) at Pittsburgh Penguins (28-10-0-0)
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, April 5, 2013
Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Broadcast: RDS, NHLN-US, MSG PLUS, ROOT
Rangers vs. Penguins Betting Lines from betonline.com
New York Rangers +1½ -255 +120 Ov 5 -128
Pittsburgh Penguins -1½ +215 -132 Un 5 +116
For the Rangers, Ryan Clowe, acquired from San Jose on Tuesday, wasted little time making his presence felt in his Rangers debut. He scored his first goal of the season in the first period and scored on the power play in the second. Center Derick Brassard and defenseman John Moore were acquired from Columbus in a trade for Marion Gaborik along with injured winger Derek Dorsett. They arrived roughly 15 minutes before pregame warm-ups – Brassard proceeded to score a goal and add three assists while Moore scored his first goal of the season. Together the new additions combined for eight points in their Rangers debut – impressive.
Hopes are that the spark doesn`t burn out – the Rangers are among the worst in the NHL in goals for – just 2.36 per game. Fitting the John Tortarella system is key for this team to succeed and failure doesn`t seem like an option after such aggression at the trade deadline.
Henrik Lundqvist will likely be between the pipes again Friday after stopping 26 of 27 shots against the Penguins Wednesday. He is 5-2-1 with a 1.72 GAA over his last eight starts.
The Pittsburgh Penguins got a visit and some good news from Sidney Crosby Thursday – he has a broken jaw, not a concussion and he should be able to return to the lineup sooner than later. The Pens will need him – they have dropped both of their decisions since he went down despite the acquisitions of Brenden Morrow, Jussi Jokinen, Douglas Murray and of course Jarome Iginla. This after 15 straight wins – the second best all-time streak in the NHL.
The Penguins continue to be the best offensive team in the NHL with an average of 3.24 goals per game but they looked overmatched Wednesday when they scored just once. A look at the lineup reveals that nobody is Hot right now – the recent two game losing streak has brought everybody to a screeching halt.[ad-4437448]
Defense had been the hallmark of this team during their 15 game winning streak. They didn’t allow a goal in 3 plus games prior to their loss at Buffalo Tuesday and they allowed just nine goals in their last 11 games prior to their losing streak. The Pens have allowed 10 goals in their last two games and are struggling mightily in their own zone.
Despite being torched for all six goals on Wednesday, Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to be back in net on Friday. He had been sensational before Wednesday and has a 18-6-0 record this season with a 2.34 GAA and .916 save % age.
Betting Prediction
A few trends to consider:
• Over is 8-2-7 in NYR last 17 Fri. games.
• Under is 52-21-22 in NYR last 95 road games.
• Under is 28-12-15 in NYR last 55 overall.
• Under is 9-0 in PIT last 9 home games.
• Under is 10-1-1 in PIT last 12 overall.
• PIT are 37-14 in their last 51 home games.
• NYR are 1-7 in the last 8 meetings.
• Under is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings in Pittsburgh.
The New York Rangers reshaped their identity this week and brought in players that seem to fit the system that they want to play. We all knew the talent was there at the beginning of the season – what was lacking was the chemistry. I’m not saying that they have totally gelled quite yet but it looks like they looked like a nightmare to play against Wednesday – something that John Tortarella has been preaching all season long. It also appears that they have caught the Penguins at precisely the right time. It all adds up to another win for the Rangers Friday – look out East – New York is coming!
Pick: New York Rangers +120
